Hazare to opt for MMRDA ground, says many donors ready to pay

With the Bombay high court on Friday rejecting the petition seeking direction to Maharashtra government for waiving or reducing the rent for MMRDA ground for his fast, Anna Hazare said the volunteers should not have sought legal remedy. "Our volunteers shouldn't have approached court," he told the media Ralegan Siddhi.

"If we don't get permission to protest at Azad Maidan, then we will choose MMRDA grounds," the anti-graft campaigner said, adding, "Many people have approached us to donate money for ground fee."

Hazare was earlier said to have opposed the idea of paying lakhs of rupees in rent for the sprawling MMRDA ground and favoured the idea of holding fast at Azad Maidan, which they could have got for free.

However, India Against Corruption, the organization spearheading the protest in Mumbai, found Azad Maidan too small to accommodate the large crowds they expect and wanted an enclosed area there, used for sporting activity, to be opened up during the three-day fast beginning December 27.

However, the high court did not pass any order to the state government on the issue after the deputy director of Sports and Youth Welfare Services department said it would ruin the 22 pitches on the ground.